


Whispers in the Firelight

by lalakate



Series: In The Company of Strangers [4]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Family, Fluff, In the Company of Strangers verse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 12:23:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13434660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalakate/pseuds/lalakate
Summary: A quiet Christmas Eve for the Blake famly





	Whispers in the Firelight

She snuggles in closer as the fire pops, smiling as his arm pulls her in even closer. Lips garnish the top of her head, and she sighs into him, afraid of making too much noise lest they disturb those sleeping nearby.

"We should really go upstairs soon," she dares, her whisper summoning his gaze. "It is getting rather late."

"I see no need to move," he voices quietly, his fingers softly stroking her shoulder. "Is there any reason why we couldn't just sleep here?"

"On Christmas Eve?" she returns, raising her head just slightly.

"It could become a family tradition," he muses, watching the corners of her mouth lift ever so slightly. "I think the children would find it very appealing."

"I'm sure they would," she responds. "But I actually value my sleep, Charles."

"Yes," he agrees with a sideways grin. "I am well aware of how precious your sleep is to you—and to me, for that matter."

"Why am I convinced that there was a rebuke hidden in that remark?" she questions, feeling the chuckle he attempts to keep quiet.

"Because you have a habit of over-analyzing everything I say," he answers, settling back into the cushions as George stirs slightly in his lap.

"Now you're flattering yourself," she quips, shifting slightly as her young charge stretches against her, black hair billowing across her lap. "Of course, that's nothing new."

A child's sigh silences them, a slumbering head burrowing in closer, and he settles for a look tossed in her direction.

"One day you'll admit it," he eventually whispers, earning himself a marked twitch of her brow. "You can't live in denial forever."

"Why not?" she tosses back. "You seem to have made yourself quite at home in that realm."

A small whimper commands her attention, and she strokes a velveteen cheek, snuggling the tiny sleeping bundle of warmth into her breast, cradling this baby they'd welcomed into the world only weeks ago. An overwhelming sense of life in all its splendor fills her veins, unleashing a surge of gratitude that inundates her depths.

"Years ago I would have never believed, could have never imagined--" He pauses, looking into her as the words he seeks seem to pop and crackle with the waning fire.

"I know," she breathes. 

She knows. Somehow she always does. 

"I'm so happy, Mary. So very happy." 

His declaration sparkles between them like moonlight strewn across snow, summoning her gaze, all teasing now absent from his tone as he fully takes in the sight before him. A man who'd once believed he'd buried his only child now dares not move from his seat in fear of waking one, his awe tickling her cheek in time with his finger. How clearly she can read him now, his expression filling her with a contentment she thought beyond her grasp not long ago. 

"So am I," she returns in earnest, smiling down at dark heads mussed in sleep before returning her focus to him. "So am I."


End file.
